martes, diciembre 27, 2005

Backgrounder

*kel in Casa Camper

[Camper Hotel, Barcelona]

What's this all about?
Musings of a permanent tourist on food and life. Green Olive Tree is a food and travel blog featuring eating finds, recipes, and world flavors adorned with original photography.

Who has all this time to write about all these stuff?
*kel; cultural tutti-frutti; senior corporate communications specialist; born in Malaysia and educated in the United States; been living and working abroad since 1998; quite crazy about the Spanish and French languages; bonkers about Mediterranean food cultures.

Blogging from Shanghai: present
Blogging from Amsterdam: 2007
Blogging from Barcelona: 2005-2006

Why only food?
Faced with the scarcity of decent wholesome food that every college student dealt with for a couple of years during dorm life, *kel’s serious venture into cooking surfaced out of survival mode. She somehow also cultivated the breakfast habit since college. In fact the first thing she thinks about waking up in the morning is, “I need food!” Since then, food shopping, cooking and baking has evolved into a form of therapy. She could spend many hours in the kitchen, at the green-grocer, and anywhere that spells f-o-o-d.

Creative and healthy, her cooking style is improvisional. Forget about asking her what's for dinner. She doesn't even know until she starts taking out the ingredients from the fridge! Unless it's one of those Saturday mornings when she wakes up feeling like cooking up a storm and marches right into the kitchen to tackle a fabulous recipe clipping.

How it all began?
Not long before she started this blog, friends have remarked on the frequency of macro food shots within her travel snapshots. Thereafter, she has been spotted with a camera snapping away on food-related items and getting inspired with writing ideas for this blog.

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sábado, diciembre 24, 2005

Pistachio Lemon Bread


My favorite thing to bake is the Pistachio Lemon Cake. It's actually a cross between a cake and a bread, due to its texture and the absence of too much sugar. From Michigan to Barcelona, it's also been an all-time snatcher at parties. The recipe is actually very simple and it calls for most staples you have in the kitchen. It is also good to the waisteline considering the quarter cup of cooking oil needed.

I used to buy a big bag of shelled pistachios by Planters´ at Sam´s Club for about $7 in the States. Here in Barcelona, they are a little tad expensive. 4€ gets you only a handful. Once while strolling in the African quartier of Marseille, I got some Iranian ones for 15€ per kilo.

Yesterday I made a loaf to bring with me this morning on the roadtrip to Provençe. It's completely scrump! I hope you can have a slice of this lemony pistachio wholesome goodness so here's my Christmas gift to you: a recipe that you can try out on your own. Happy baking and Joyeux Noel!

Pistachio Lemon Bread
1 & 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 beaten egg
1/4 cup cooking oil
2 teaspoon finely shredded lemon peel
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 cup chopped pistachio nuts
1 tablespoon sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350º. Grease bottom and sides of cake or loaf pan and set aside.
2. In a medium bowl stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Make a well in the center of the dry mixture and set aside.
3. In another medium mixing bowl, combine milk, egg, cooking oil, lemon peel, and the 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. Add egg mixture all at once ot the dry mixture. Stir just until moistened (batter should be lumpy.) Fold in pistachios.
4. Spoon batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near center comes out clean.
5. Meanwhile, stir together the 2 tablespoon lemon juice and the 1 tablespoon sugar. While bread is still in pan, bursh lemon-sugar mixture over loaf. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes.
6. Remove loaf from pan; cool on wire rack.

Wrap and store overnight before serving. This nut bread taste better when "aged". Store in foil for up to 1 week in the fridge.

(Recipe adapted from Better Homes and Gardens, Nov 1999)

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Kitchen Gear for a Truly Merry Christmas


Look what I've gotten in the mail? Kitchen gadgets flown in from across the Atlantic Ocean for Christmas! Thank you Becky and Pete for these amazing gifts. How appropriate considering the fact that I've recently started this food blog. I've always wanted a really sharp and "professional" and here I got one. The coolest thing is this KitchenAid Silicone Grabber that has a heat resistant up to 500°F. It makes removing pots and pans a breeze. I also love these white silicone pot holders; they're so stylish! Merci beaucoup!!

jueves, diciembre 22, 2005

Menu for Hope

The food blogging community, headed by Pim, is putting up a fundraiser for Kasmir's recent earthquake victims through UNICEF. You have till Friday to enter the raffle. Each $5 entitles you to a chance to win any of the amazingly cool and generous gifts donated by food bloggers from around the world. To participate, here's a recipe:
1. Find the gift you would like on the menu.
2. Go to Menu for Hope II donation page and donate $5 or whatever sum you could spare.
3. Indicate in the comment section your preferred gift(s). It's that easy! Give now.
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I'm off to France till Jan 7th for the Christmas holidays. I'll try to post something when I can. Will be caputuring all things nice with my camera so stay tuned. Meanwhile have a Blessed Christmas...Joyeux Noel...Feliz Navidad!

lunes, diciembre 19, 2005

Best Crema Catalana in Barcelona, I reckon.



Viola, here's presenting one of the most mouth-watering desserts in Barcelona, Spain. Many places make it here in the city since it's named after the Catalonian region (Catalunya), but none will beat the one pictured here served at Granja M. Viader. To enjoy your treat, you first have to stare gratefully at it for a few moments. While doing that, appreciate the texture of the crispy caramel coating. Next, gently tap your teaspoon on the caramalized surface. Pick up a spoonful gently from the edges and let it slide gently onto your tongue. Now feel the creamy goodness of the custard tinted with hints of the burnt sugar. Well, if you live in Barcelona, you don't have to drool. Just go get yourself a treat!

Note: Some say this is the catalan version of the french "crème brûlée" and the english "burnt cream". I say let the Catalans claim what they want!

Here's an easy recipe. Try it and let me know how it turns out.
Crema Catalana
Ingredients:
6 egg yolks
200g or 3/4 cup sugar
3/4 litre milk or 2 cups milk
1 cinnamon stick
2 long strips of lemon peel removed with a vegetable peeler
3 tablespoon corn flour or all-purpose flour

1. Beat yolks until light then whisk in 150g or 1/2 cup of sugar
2. Bring to boil milk in a saucepan together with cinnamon and lemon peel and then remove from heat and strain.
3. Whisk milk with egg mixture
4. Dissolve cornflour or flour with a little milk and whisk into the mixture
5. Place the mixture over low heat and cook, stirring constantly until it begins to boil
6. Spoon custard into a pudding bowl or among 6 individual gratin dishes or ramekins and allow to cool before placing in the fridge.
7. Before serving sprinkle 2 teaspoons of remaining sugar on top and caramelize by placing under a hot grill briefly until the sugar melts and turns brown

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jueves, diciembre 15, 2005

Singapore Chilli Crab


A friend of mine Josephine was leaving Barcelona for good and gave me a few items from her pantry that she thought I could use. One of them was a boxed-kit to make the scrumptious Singapore Chilli Crab. I kept it in my pantry for close to a year because for one, none of my friends here would appreciate such a spicy treat, and second, I keep adjourdning the day I would go crab-shopping. One fine day I fished out the box and found that the expiry date is round the corner and right after class I walked up to the Boqueria market got myself some crabs for 7 euro worth of crab... about half a kilogram. The result is this front-page worthy dish, whipped up in 3 quarters of an hour. The folks over at Prima Deli did us southeast-asian transplants a good deed indeed. With the spices pre-packaged, all you need really are guts to handle the live crabs, patience to hover over the stove, and a raw egg to finish the spicy yummy sauce. I got to know this company because they make my favourite Singapore (or Johor) Laksa in ready-to-cooked form. (This is my top most favorite dish from home, speil later.) They´ve a new website, and I´ve been toying with the idea of getting some stuff shipped to me when my supplies run out.

*I garnished it with some fresh organic basil leaves. Doesn't it look good? And yes, I chowed it down all by myself ;)

martes, diciembre 13, 2005

German Pumpkin Soup



While visiting my friend Melanie in Bern, Switzerland two years ago, she whipped up some amazing pumpkin soup worthy of a mention. We're almost towards the end of pumpkin season, but in Barcelona, one can still find it abundant in the green-grocers. This bright orange flesh of the fruit has a generous dose of beta-carotene, that may reduce the risk of developing certain types of cancer and heart diseases, as well as certain aspects of aging. A 90 percent water content also means that pumpkin is low in calories. This is a very simple recipe that I've improvized from the one she gave me. Try it and let me know if you like it.

German Pumpkin Soup
Ingredients:
Fresh pumpkin cut into small and thin slices. (2 cups)
1 medium potato quarted and sliced
Quarter of a big onion sliced thinly
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon tarragon
3/4 cup milk
2 cups vegetable stock
1 tablespoon butter
Sunflower seed oil (optional, not to be confused with sunflower oil for cooking.)
Pepper and salt to taste
Lemon juice

1. Saute onions in butter and half tsp sunflower seed oil till the color turns darker.
2. Add pumpkin and potatoes and continue the saute process.
3. Add spices mid-way and some water if it gets too dry. Simmer with lid closed for a few minutes till the veggies are soft and tender.
4. Add milk and vegetable stock and puree till it gets to the consistency you want. Add more water if needed.
5. Add more nutmeg, tarragon, salt, and pepper to taste.
6. Lastly, simmer for 10 min.

Serve pipping hot with a few drops of lemon juice.

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domingo, diciembre 11, 2005

La Chocolatière du Panier


I have to share these with you guys... it's an amazing chocolate that I got in Marseille last week. This little chocolatier is hidden in the crooked roads of Le Panier, a neighborhood of Marseille's centreville. For 45 euro/kg there are a zillion varieties of homemade chocolate made in big discs (think pizza) and cut into wedges for sale. The one I got was made with 70 percent dark chocolate with candied oranges. A tiny bite will give you an indelible mouthful of smooth bitter cocoa with a hint of sweetness from the bits of candied fruit. There are some made with caramalized ginger, figs, pistachio, and other interesting combinations. The lady who owns the place (thus, la chocolatiere)will be happy to let you do a few tastings. It's up the road from the Centre de la Vieille Charité (cultural center), a baroque chapel that was once used as a monastery as well. (More about this place later.)

La Chocolatière du Panier
Location: 4 Place des 13 Cantons, 13002 Marseille, France

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jueves, diciembre 08, 2005

I feel it in my fingers...

Christmas is here! I can finally feel it since putting up my little 5-foot-tall christmas tree today...by the radiator (sorry, no fireplace here). Thanks to a really sweet friend in Marseille who gave me some "Original Swedish Gingerbread Holiday Hearts", I finally had the oomph to put up my tree. These delicious-looking ornaments made a huge difference. (Merci, Tiphane!) I just find them so warm and sweet on my tree. Supposedly in Germany, it's a tradition to hang cookies on the "tannenbaum". With "The Christmas Song" spinning on the CD player, I thought about each of my very dear friends as I carefully hang the ornaments one by one onto the tree. I thought of Becky and Sharon and the others who might be doing the same thing this time of the year. Well, I've thought about making a batch of cookies but I don't know if I'll follow it through. Thoughts speak louder than actions, you know. I don't have those chocolate advent calendars to countdown to Noel, but I know it's less than 20 days away. Gosh, I better be mindful about how I spend the next two weeks. I better start thinking happy thoughts, write in my journal, and be thankful about all the good things that God has given me this year.